A guy is only able to run a good race when he is wearing a backback. (or say, a long, heavy trenchcoat.)
When he is not wearing this his hips never really rise beyond the first few steps causing him to sit and lack knee-drive. In short he experiences very little power-return from the surface.
Also when approaching top-speed he has the sensation of the upper-body rising but the knees staying “down there”.
Could it be that this guy is hunching over when he is not wearing a backback? Or even bending at the waist?
My theory is that you have overanalyzed your running to the point where you have gotten yourself into a psychological funk.
running should be natural, you shouldn’t have to think about things on a micro level. It is instinctive and reactionary. How can you possibly run fast when you are thinking about all the various components of the run when you are sprinting? You will slow down.
I used to overanalyze as well. (especially my arms) One session with a good sprint coach showing me proper arm movements made a huge difference.
Go run relaxed, comfortably and fast. Don’t pay attention to anything in particular. Videotape yourself and have a look AFTERWARDS to see if anything looks particularly ugly When we are children we have perfect sprint mechanics. It is when we are older that we sometimes overanalyze and screw ourselves up
I know what you are saying, but most of the time this analyzing only starts when form breaks down. When I don’t get it right the alarm goes off, not before.
When I started running a year ago I had no problems at all. I have always run mechanically sound. But as the year has progressed I have seemingly caught a bad habit.
To get out of this habit I think it necessary to know just what it is.
The best way you’re going to find out any ‘defects’ with your sprinting mechanics is to, as chris says, videotape yourself running-if possible in a race-then you may find something you don’t like.
Hope this helps
All is good now…
It wasn’t so much “paralysis by analysis” as it was “trying to hard”.
All I needed was the courage to ease back at the start.
It could well be that I am starting slower than needed now, but since I get good rythm and top-speed everytime I will leave it at that.
Lesson learned - for good I hope…
